Today’s meditation is a live recording from this year’s Summer Solstice Meditation Retreat.

Midsummer and the temps are hot… literally and figuratively. As a way to explore the feelings that come with rising temperatures, in today’s class I share two powerful poems:

An Inn for the Coven by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

The Guest House by Rumi

These poems speak of a place where we are safe.

The Inn feels lush, abundant, filled with love and the possibility of beauty.

The Guest House feels sturdy, spacious enough for all our feelings to reside without conflict.

We hear of our loves, our hurts, and our divinity in these poems; all different and all the same and all inside.

And so, this midsummer meditation is an invitation to explore the inn.

To travel the grounds finding all the hidden trails.

To open all the doors.

It is an invitation to create or discover an internal experience of deep, nourishing safety, a place to nurture our love and hope. A place to rest well and to feel fully.

Join me for today’s discussion and guided meditation.

Sign up for my newsletter at https://merylarnett.substack.com/ to receive free mini meditations each week, creative musings, and more.

Thank you to Nick McMahan for today’s nature field recordings, sound design, and editing; and thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production and editing support. Find them at

https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/

https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Watch on YouTube, Make a donation, or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting

merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@ourmindfulnature

Today, as the final installment in our Edges series, I am joined by writer, poet, memoirist, teacher, yogi, activist, and mother - Nadia Colburn.

Nadia has recently released her newest book of poetry, I Say the Sky - and y’all know how much I love exploring the intersection of poetry and mindfulness.

As a start, I want to share one of the review blurbs about Nadia’s newest book because I feel that it so perfectly sums up her work:

"From the opening poem and on through this glorious book, Nadia Colburn strikes the difficult balance between celebrating the splendor of the world we inhabit and acknowledging the grief and devastation that none of us can escape. As much a book of love songs as a book of elegies, I Say the Sky is a heart opening and mind sharpening collection." ~Camille T. Dungy

I couldn’t agree more.

In our conversation today, Nadia,who feels like an old friend, and I discuss:

• Writing from the body
• Agency in times of distress
• Meeting edge places in a state of opening rather than contraction

We talk of generative, supportive action and of course we explore mindful writing practices to support ourselves in times of change. Grab your journal and join us!

Learn more about Nadia Colburn here: https://nadiacolburn.com/

Check out Nadia's FREE 5-day Meditation & Writing Challenge here: https://nadiacolburn.com/free-mindful-writing-challenge/

Learn more about Project Regeneration here: https://regeneration.org/

Thank you to Brianna Nielsen for production support of this episode. https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Please sign up for my newsletter at merylarnett.substack.com to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast

As you have likely noticed in this month’s episodes, we have moved from the stars to the soil. We will spend the next several episodes exploring edges and ecotones - spaces rife with the very best type of tension. The tension that inspires growth, expansion and action.

Today, I am talking with artist, edge-walker, and dear friend Perri Lynch Howard about her experiences in a variety of ecotonal landscapes.

Perri is an artist dedicated to forging new narratives from the front lines of climate change. Working in the context of extreme environments is an essential aspect of Howard’s practice, driving her curiosity to seek a deeper sense of place, beyond the dichotomy of near and far. Her artwork resides within the emerging genre of New Polar Aesthetics, expressed through painting, drawing, sculpture and sound.

In this episode, Perri shares three of her unique, ecotonal field recordings with us as a way to explore the edges both within and without.

We will hear the sounds of Vashon Island, the Great Basin Desert, and Svalbard and throughout we discuss:

• Non-judgement
• Listening for the truth of the moment
• The relational words we use when discussing the land and ourselves
• Reciprocal relationship in the time of climate crisis
• The first rule of field recording AND meditating (!!)

At the end, there is a guided meditation experience of the Vashon Island soundscape as an opportunity for you to explore your own relationship with edges.

Thank you to the residencies and agencies that provided the time, space, and resources for Perri to record these incredible landscapes - The Arctic Circle Residency, PLAYA Artist Residency, Vashon Artist Residency, The Puffin Foundation, Artist Trust, and Quiet Parks International.

Finally, deep gratitude to Nick McMahan for editing and the sound design of this episode, and to Brianna Nielsen for production support.

Learn more about:

Perri Lynch Howard: https://www.perrilynchhoward.com/

Nick McMahan: https://www.nickcmcmahan.com/

Brianna Nielsen: https://www.instagram.com/brianna_podcastpro/

Please sign up for my newsletter at merylarnett.substack.com to access these meditations as stand-alone audio files for your daily practice.

Make a donation or learn more about my free offerings and live classes by visiting merylarnett.com

instagram.com/merylarnett

youtube.com/@themindfulminutepodcast